Zelensky: The US Ignores Threats from Russia Due to Trust in Putin

In a recent interview for the podcast The Rest is Politics, published by The Guardian, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the United States is ignoring the existing evidence of close cooperation between Russia and Iran. He emphasized that this neglect is rooted in a misplaced trust in the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, which could lead to an underestimation of further threats from the Russian Federation.

Zelensky highlighted his efforts to draw the attention of the White House administration to the fact that Russian military satellites are actively monitoring critical energy infrastructure in the Gulf countries and Israel. According to him, the data collected is being transmitted to Iran, enabling it to prepare strikes on these facilities. "I have said this publicly. Have we heard any response from the US regarding Russia, that they need to stop this?" Zelensky rhetorically asked, adding that "the problem is that they trust Putin. And that is unfortunate."

The Ukrainian president also noted that the team of former US President Donald Trump "does not fully understand Russia's true intentions." He believes this is connected to the fact that Trump's negotiators, such as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, spent too much time communicating with Putin and his high-ranking officials. Specifically, they visited Moscow five times last year, yet have not made a trip to Kyiv, which raises concerns for the Ukrainian president.

Zelensky emphasized that he has a better understanding of Putin's psychology and military objectives than representatives from the White House. He warned that even if Russia gains control over the Donbas region, it will not stop there and may target other Ukrainian cities such as Dnipro and Kharkiv. "We must acknowledge that partly Americans feel that [Donbas] is nothing for us. They do not want to admit that Putin will lie to them and that he can continue the occupation even after such steps. Americans are convinced that they can trust Putin," the president stressed.

On April 5, Zelensky reported that Russia had provided Iran with satellite intelligence on over 50 energy system facilities in Israel, most of which are civilian infrastructure. In March, the Ukrainian president also stated that Russia had supplied Iran with Shahed-type drones, which is corroborated by Ukrainian intelligence data. He mentioned that the Russians are providing intelligence information to the Iranian regime, believing they can assist Iran since the US and Europe are providing Ukraine with intelligence support in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.

On March 10, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stated that Russia denies sharing intelligence data with Iran regarding the locations of American military facilities in the Middle East. On March 8, US President Donald Trump noted that he sees no grounds to discuss support for Iran from Russia. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged that cooperation between Iran and Russia "is not something new," but did not clarify whether Russian intelligence is helping Iran locate US military assets.